In the Time Between Healing
by Izzy86P1
Summary: Grima is defeated. The grim future in Lucina's timeline is finally averted for good. The Shepherds return home to find Ferox and Ylisse celebrating their victory and are treated to a hero's welcome. Yet in the midst of all the cheering and feelings of relief and elation, one family mourns. [Updated: 15.1.2014 with Chapter 2]
1. Prologue: Ylisstol

**A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to my first fanfiction on this site. But first I'd like to warn you to click back if you haven't finished Fire Emblem: Awakening, as this story is _heavy_ with spoilers and takes place directly after the final battle.  
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**Fire Emblem: Awakening is a game I absolutely adore (aside from old classics like Mario 64 and DK64) and fell in love with during my playthrough. I'm actually quite new to the series itself. The characterization was strong, and while the concept in itself is rather overused (Dragons vs. People, think GW2 or the Hobbit where it's a prominent plot-point), I felt that the general tone and excellent presentation prevented it from falling flat. I'm not new to writing per se: I've been writing since age 10, and 7 years have lapsed until then, and I've entered the Role-playing scene on some MMOs (Lord of the Rings Online, aforementioned Guild Wars 2, etc. etc.), but I'm far from professional and I'd love critique.  
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**Regarding this story, this is my interpretation of the direct events that unfolded if one chooses "No" during the Grima chapter, and Robin is married to Chrom. I feel that the overall ending had the characters painted a tad too optimistic of the Avatar's return for my taste and the impact of Robin's death on Chrom to be too toned down, although this is understandable given the game's production history (and the necessity of the toning down of Chrom's reactions as the male and female Avatar share their dialogue in the final chapter - it'd be weird if Chrom went on about his wife despite the fact the avatar is MALE! :O) and then-status of being the final Fire Emblem game in the series before sales and strong reviews saved the franchise. I will attempt to remain as faithful to the original portrayals of the featured characters as possible, whilst exploring the grief that the royal family undeniably went through after Robin's "death". I hope you enjoy this story and I'd love to hear reviews from you!**

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**Ylisstol**

The quiet did nothing to comfort the prince as he lay in the midst of utter darkness, staring at what he presumed to be the ceiling. He was all alone in the middle of the night, engrossed deep in his thoughts, caring nothing of the fact that the world was still moving, still alive; Still breathing. To him, the meaning of these things were muted. He was accutely aware that the world still existed because of his - no, their efforts. The people of Ylisstol, oblivious to the sacrifice that had been made to ensure their continued existence. In Ferox, they undoubtedly had some degree of understanding over the situation - Flavia and Basilio weren't the kind to sugar-coat their words and play down the tragedies that occured, after all.

He tried to imagine how life beyond the capital was playing out right now. Maybe somewhere, a brother and sister were having a heated argument over the use of swords as fruit knives. Maybe somewhere, a mother was cradling her baby in her arms, singing a soft lullaby. Maybe somewhere, a father was reading his children a bedtime story of the Hero-King of old, smiling as he watched them fall asleep.

But not here.

He had gone to great lengths to explain to the people what had transpired while their Prince had gone away to war against Valm, only to be whisked away to Plegia for reasons unknown. Like Emmeryn before him, he did not let his people see the pain he kept concealed inside him as he addressed them and explained that they were now all free to pursue their own choices, free from the burden of knowing the Fell Dragon was out there and waiting for his loyal followers to resurrect him. He bottled up the anger that followed as he tried to explain, to the best of his abilities, why the Prince's wife was not with them. The task had been agonizing: He did not want to lie to his people - what if she never returned? - yet at the same time, he could not bring himself to reveal the truth of her dissappearance - what if it sent the whole kingdom spiralling down into more needless grief and panic, just like Emmeryn's death two years ago? He did not even want to think about the possibility of having to explain to the people just what Robin had done, and where she _really_ came from. Instead he had settled for a half-truth that left bile rising at the back of his mouth, where he had carefully selected his words in such a way that he had no doubt would leave many Ylisseans with unanswered questions, but avoided sounding too cryptic for fear of creating unrest and anxiety.

Still, the aftermath did not comfort him at all. One task had been finished, but before him lay more responsibilities, more tasks, to be started and seen through the end. The Shepherds had survived the Continental war and the Awakening of the Fell Dragon, but there was still the question of healing the hurts that had come with it.

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**A/N: And thus, Chrom begins contemplating on the meaning of... no, this is just the prologue, which is why it isn't as long :P The intentions are to basically give the reader a feel of Chrom's dilemma and emotional state following the loss of his wife Robin, making connections to Emmeryn's death two years ago, and the sensation that despite his grief, Chrom must continue to appear indomitable or risk his country giving into despair as well, while being plagued by doubt. I hope you enjoyed the prologue! The other character's viewpoints will be expressed in different chapters (And no, this is simply the prologue, which means Chrom's chapter is going to be a LOT longer than this). :D**


	2. Chapter 1: Nightmares from the Future

**A/N: This chapter deals with Lucina's emotional state and thoughts after her mother sacrificed herself to Grima. There's also some Morgan/Lucina sibling interaction towards the middle of the Chapter as I feel the game's potential on the sibling support conversations and relationships was rather underused. The characters may go slightly into a bit of OOC-behaviour depending on your take, but please enjoy and leave some feedback! :D**

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**Chapter 1: Nightmares from the Future**

_"Your mother and father are DEAD, tiny one."_

_Lucina's breath stopped as the words drove a piercing pain into her heart. The huge skeletal dragon, it's six (visible) eyes all trained on her, attempting to cow her into submission, leered at her as the dust from the debris and crumbled castle walls settled around her. Her heart raced. The dragon let out a horrible cry of mixed laughter and roaring, rearing it's terrible head upwards, letting Lucina get a full glimpse of it's many, many jaws and teeth, but she did not back down. Gritting her teeth, the Princess of Ylisse steeled herself as she glared into the abomination's eyes, fear and adrenaline coursing through her veins. She surpressed it by her will and determination, but it did not prevent her from trembling in the face of the monster's words - words that she knew, all too well, were a fact. _

_If fate had decided to be more merciful, she would have had possession of the Emblem at that moment and used it's power to perform the Awakening to put the monster to sleep, but instead, fate came on the swift wings of the Fell Dragon, leaving only broken buildings and the dead in it's wake. Fate was cruel._

_If fate had decided to tip the scales in her favour, Naga would have appeared before them and granted her prayers for a way to end the bloodshed and restore the peace. Instead, fate decreed that Naga remain silent, and the Halidom was left to fend for itself in the wake of their deity's absence and the rise of her mortal enemy. Fate was uncompromising._

_And fate could not be changed. She was alone now. Where there were once proud castle walls there now only stood the shambles and debris of the palace's former glory, the bodies of slain soldiers lying along the red-tainted marble floor. Her parents, dead. Her friends, all lost in the midst of the battlefield, unable to reach her, and maybe just as dead as her parents. Her people, all slaughtered by the Risen and the dragon. The only thing she could rely on right now, right here, was Falchion - but even Falchion trembled, and the hand that wielded it could not be steadied. _

_She was truly alone._

_"And now..." Came the monster's voice. This was it. The final confrontation. Terror, in it's sporadic eccentricity, would dictate that she run now, but her will kept her cemented to the spot. She needed to stand her ground now. She would NOT submit to Grima, despite the truth of his words, her heavy despair, already cowing her deep down inside. She would NOT bow down to this monster, this wicked creature who had torn her family asunder and left her and countless others without their loved ones. She would make her last stand here, as the last surviving descendant of the Hero-King, the last remaining of House Ylisse and the Exalt's bloodline, and face the monster on her own terms - even if it meant death._

_"It is your turn to DIE!"_

_The monster's mouth lunged at her and she could only utter a scream of defiance._

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Lucina opened her eyes and surpressed the urge the scream. _Just a dream... _she repeated to herself, _Just a dream_...

She sat up and frowned heavily as she registered the feeling of wet grass beneath her clothing, the smell of leaves, and the pressing silence of what she now saw was twilight: purple sky, swirling clouds moving past her eyesight, the occasional twinkle of a star that had managed to break through the misty barrier. She discovered that she had been leaning against the trunk of an old, weathered tree just outside the castle walls and only now remembered what she had been doing before the nightmare took her.

Had it been any other ordinary day, Lucina would have been stargazing just as always, noting how bright the past's celestial lights had been before things took a turn for worse - but even after slipping out of the courtyard through the bashed-in wall and finding one of her favourite spots to sit, she found she could not bring herself to admire the stars the same way as before. Rather, whenever she looked up at the sky, the stars only served to remind her of the sacrifice _she_ had made to ensure their continued survival, and despite the hope and longing, the despair still weighed heavy on her heart and the light's reminders blinded her.

She often saw her father and aunt riding out with some of the Shepherds on long marches to the countryside. Lucina herself had joined on many occasions, although it was hardly the same compared to before the monster's rise and fall. It was quieter now, more solemn, and there was seldom any joke except for half-hearted attempts at humour coming from more relaxed characters like Vaike and Inigo. Sometimes, bold searches were made, and there were often those who did not return until the morning. When they returned, however, there was nothing but a sad headshake or silence to accentuate the failure.

To Lucina's surprise, however, the silence was often muted by murmuring and smiling. Warm words of comfort and reassurance exchanged between friends and family, hopeful glances in every direction, and even the occasional laugh. She could tell many were still determined not to give up, and there had always been someone like Nowi or Inigo to lighten the mood.

Lucina had always admired the Shepherds' optimism.

Her father was a different case. She knew deep down inside he too, was grieving as she was. Beneath the conviction of the Prince and Captain she often saw the heavy doubt that plagued him, and the uncertainty that she knew all too well; Yet Chrom remained stoic in the face of grief, and did not let the others see the sorrow that he kept bottled up and hidden away from the world, choosing only to express it when alone or surrounded by family. There were times when she'd woken up in the middle of the night and walked around the palace to find him in the courtyard, looking up at the sky or venting unseen frustrations by stabbing the air repeatedly with his Falchion. Whenever she'd caught him out and about, she'd silently gone back to her own room and donned her armour, and joined him without a word.

Even Morgan wasn't immune to the heavy burden of grief. As cheerful as he was, she was aware there was only so much the human spirit could take before the weight could take toll on their emotions. He'd taken to disappearing into the palace's library and burying himself in countless strategy books to cope with the sorrow, but amazingly, Morgan had always re-emerged with a bright smile that boggled Lucina's mind - and seeing as he was the most expressive and excitable of them all, it amazed her to see him in such a sunny disposition, especially considering that, Lucina thought with a small pang, the loss of his memories meant that every experience was still new to him, and the loss of their mother, the only one he had any memories of, must have hit him very hard. Still, there were many days that she knocked at Morgan's door and opened it to find him sitting alone in a chair with one of Mother's books in his lap, looking out the window and undoubtedly thinking.

"Lucina?" A voice asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. Her head snapped up and she saw Morgan's familiar figure, to her surprise, striding across the field to meet her. She observed his clothing and noted that he resembled mother moreso than she did, wearing a similar black coat to hers marked with Plegian designs on the sleeves and shoulders. The only thing that hinted at his royal lineage was the fact that he had inherited Chrom's signature blue hair and carried the Brand of the Exalt in his right eye, mirroring Lucina's left. It was a bittersweet image. _Perhaps the coat belonged to Mother..._

"Morgan! How did you get out here?!" She asked incredulously. _He couldn't have-_

"I got out through the hole in the wall that Father bashed in. You didn't do a very good job of hiding it!" Morgan beamed brightly at his sister and sat down next to her, playing around with blades of grass. As was usual with Morgan, he was holding a strategy book in his hand, "Lucina? Are you all right?"

Lucina shook her head, frowning, "Morgan, you know what's happened."

"All right, all right, I was just trying to be friendly." Morgan reciprocated her frown with his own, but this frown seemed more prominent than any other expression of sadness she'd seen him wear. They were both thinking of the same thing. "She'll be fine, don't worry!"

"How can you be so certain?" Lucina grimaced.

"Because I know," He replied, nodding, "She's out there waiting. Heck, maybe she's even looking for us!"

"I'm amazed by how cheerful and optimistic you are, Morgan. You always found a reason to smile, even in the future." She said. Morgan smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back, although in the depths of her mind she thought his smile was a bit forced.

"Well, like I said! Everything's a first time for me!" He chuckled, "I want to make the best of it!"

"I'm sure it must be exciting. All I knew in the future was death and despair." She allowed herself to look up at the sky and heaved a sigh, "I suppose that makes me slightly envious of you and my present self. You both escaped a dire fate."

"Well, we both have you to thank for it!" Morgan reached up to pat his sister on the shoulder and beamed, "Thanks to you, the Dragon's dead and no one has to suffer anymore. If you hadn't travelled back to the future, well... I guess I'd have died fighting somewhere, and your present self would've... um..." He gestured to her and she laughed grimly.

"Yes, grown up to become this version of her." Lucina finished.

Morgan averted his gaze and mumbled hastily, "S-sorry, I didn't mean to imply..."

"No offense taken, Morgan." She replied. Morgan did not seem to be anymore relieved, however, "Was there a specific reason you came looking for me?"

"Er, yes, well..." Morgan trailed off, rubbing the back of his head, "You're being moody again, so I figured I should cheer you up! I've told Father I was going to spend some time with you, so if you have anything you want to talk about, your little brother's listening!"

"Oh, thank you, Morgan." Lucina's allowed herself a small smile. It touched and made her happy to be in her Brother's company again, especially considering the nature of how they were separated, not just by memory loss, but by the time travel as well. It felt nice to be able to have the closest thing to actual banter with him, despite everything that had happened prior. Still, she could feel that there was more to his actual feelings on the matter, and uncertainty was starting to take root over the direction the conversation was beginning to take.

She fell silent for a moment before speaking, "I just wonder if Mother doesn't reappear at all, if our bonds to her weren't enough to save her. What if she will be gone forever? What if we never see her again? She has to return. I can only pray to the Gods that we do not lose her permanently... Father would be-"

"That's nonsense, Lucina." Morgan's voice took on an unusually serious tone, but she could hear it wavering a slight bit, "You shouldn't let it get to your head. Our bonds are stronger than anything Grima could've..."

_Grima. _The thought of that horrible monster made her stomach churn. She remembered her nightmare and all feelings of content vanished within her in an instant. She remembered the entire ordeal she had experienced once she realized that her own mother was said to be destined to kill her father, and the thought soured her mind. She glanced at Morgan and found that he was going into a long rant over destiny and how fate isn't controlled. She was only half-listening. Her gaze drifted to the Brand in his right eye, then downwards to his coat, where the Plegian markings - three eyes on each sleeve - were. Lucina stared at the eyes, then back to Morgan's Brand, and finally, her stare went downwards, until she found herself looking at Falchion.

"Lucina." Morgan's voice reached her again and she looked at him. He was standing in front of her, looking upset, "I know what you're thinking, but we'll be fine. He's dead and couldn't have gotten us anyway. Mother's out there... S-she wouldn't have wanted you to worry too much."

Suddenly, Lucina became accutely aware of the fact that in the span of their conversation, night had fallen. She looked at Morgan, saw his hand reaching down to pull her up, and reached up to grasp it firmly and stand up. As soon as she was standing, however, she felt Morgan's arms embracing her tightly and looked down; She could hear him faintly sobbing and knew that her words had affected him more deeply than he wanted to show. She berated herself for her poor choice of words and insensitive comments. Morgan, she realized, hadn't just come to her to cheer her up - he wanted to have a chance to grieve _with_ her and comfort her as well. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, tears beginning to form in her own eyes as she remembered the last time she'd seen Morgan before they'd all went back through time - back then, he had come dangerously close to a breaking point and almost lost himself completely, had she and Owain not managed to comfort him. It was so different, so radically different to see her brother as the upbeat boy he'd now shaped himself to be, but to witness him grieving yet again broke her heart. In more ways than one, she was grateful for the fact that he had lost his memory.

"S-she's out t-there, I k-know she is!" Morgan's muffled voice said; She'd nearly forgotten what it'd been like to hug her brother - to her, it had always seemed like the war and the Dragon had left her little respite. Her hand reached up to stroke his hair and she sighed, looking up at the sky. The stars were shining, but this time she did not feel the need to avert her eyes instantly. She simply looked at them until she could no longer bear the painful reminder of what they stood for and closed her eyes.

_Mother, wherever you are, please come back to us soon._

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**A/N: I hope this chapter was enjoyable. There were a few times where I had to completely re-write some sentences because I wasn't overly fond of the presentation. I hope I've managed to show a more fleshed-out relationship between Lucina and Sibling!Morgan than what was presented in the game itself. **

**I've also written Morgan as having the Brand in his right eye, to mirror Lucina's left, despite there being no evidence that Morgan carried the Brand. It's sort of a personal headcanon thing, as Lucina will always have a sibling no matter who you pair her up with, and Inigo is the only other potential sibling to be confirmed as carrying the Brand (If you have Chrom talk to him during his recruitment Paralogue, he'll reveal the Brand in his right eye), so it sort of made sense to me if that any other Sibling also had the Brand in their right eye. **

**As always, reviews are welcome!  
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